The idea of measuring academic self-concept and its development (change) in relationship with sorting mechanisms comes from a long-lasting tradition of research by Herb Marsh on self-concept theory and measurement (e.g., Shavelson et al. 1976; Marsh 2006). Marsh and Craven (1997) claim that academic self-concept and achievement are mutually reinforcing constructs, each leading to gains in the other.  For the case of the Czech Republic the most relevant is the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect (BFLPE), which consistently shows that students have lower-academic self-concepts in schools with higher average achievement. Thus according to the big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), attending academically selective high schools negatively affects academic self-concept. BFLPE has been confirmed across many countries; however the most relevant for the Czech Republic are studies of BFLPE in Germany. German and Czech Education system have one common feature – its selective nature which sorts students in different types of school based on ability already at lower-secondary education.

In the Czech Republic, tracking starts from very young age. At the age of 11, children can apply for long academic track (eight-year gymnasium).  About 13 % of Czech 11-years old students leave basic schools and start lower secondary education at upper secondary academic schools. Eight-year gymnasia are valued as institutions providing high quality education to especially talented children and thus reproducing efficiently Czech elites. At the same time, by the Czech researchers they are viewed as one of the main sources of high inequalities in the Czech education system (e.g. Mateju, Strakova 2005).

Marsh, Trautwein, Lüdtke, Baumert & Köller (2007) on data for Germany have confirmed the BFLPE effect and they showed that negative effects associated with school type (academic track -gymnasium) were similar—but smaller—than the BFLPE based on school-average achievement. WE plan to test similar hypothesis. In this paper we plan to answer following research questions:

What is the relationship between self-concept and achievement in given domain in the Czech Republic? How do they interact? Could we confirm BFLPE hypothesis in the Czech Republic?

• What is the effect of tracking on developing self-concept? How does self-concept of students develop in 8y-gymnasium and in general track?

Marsh, H.W. & Craven, R.G. (2006). Reciprocal effects of self-concept and performance from a multidimensional perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1(2), 133–163. Marsh, H. W. (2006). Self-concept theory, measurement and research into practice: The role of self-concept in educational psychology. The British Psychological Society. Marsh, H.W., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Baumert, J. & Köller, O. (2007). The Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect: Persistent Negative Effects of Selective High Schools on Self-Concept After Graduation. American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 631 –669. Mateju, P., Strakova, J. (2005). The role of the family and the school in the reproduction of educational inequalities in the post-Communist Czech Republic. British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol.26, No.1, pp. 17-40. Shavelson, R.J.; Hubner, J.J. & Stanton, G.C. (1976). Self-Concept: Validation of construct interpretations. Review of Educational Research, 46, 407–441.